Green Options » Gustav http://greenoptions.com/tag/gustav Posts tagged 'Gustav' Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:00:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Obama on Hurricane Gustav and Wetlands Restoration - That Elitist Wonk http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/03/obama-talks-about-hurricane-gustav-and-wetlands-restoration-wonk-style/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/03/obama-talks-about-hurricane-gustav-and-wetlands-restoration-wonk-style/#comments Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:00:56 +0000 Timothy B. Hurst http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/03/obama-talks-about-hurricane-gustav-and-wetlands-restoration-wonk-style/ What I have come to appreciate about Democrats is that they like to talk about the specifics of policy.  Dare I say, the Democratic Party is the party of wonk? Sure, I’m painting with a broad brush, but I’m going to take that liberty because it segues nicely with this video I want to show you of an interview CNN’s Anderson Cooper did with Sen. Barack Obama. What I liked about what it was that Obama doesn’t focus on the failures of this or other administrations, but rather he emphasizes restoring wetlands on the Gulf Coast.

The vanishing wetlands provide a valuable ecological service by absorbing the powerful leading edge of hurricanes and limiting the flooding potential of storm surges. Anyone can talk about courage, resolve, values, leadership, etc., but I’d much rather have the minutiae of environmental politics and wetlands restoration any day of the week. Read more about the wonky specifics of Obama’s environmental policy.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/03/obama-talks-about-hurricane-gustav-and-wetlands-restoration-wonk-style/feed/ Gas Prices, Gustav and the Future of Offshore Drilling http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/08/30/gas-prices-gustav-and-the-future-of-offshore-drilling/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/08/30/gas-prices-gustav-and-the-future-of-offshore-drilling/#comments Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:11:37 +0000 Heidi Suydam http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/08/30/gas-prices-gustav-and-the-future-of-offshore-drilling/ hurricane gustav aug 30An August 29th article on Science Daily explains how hurricane’s Katrina and Rita can give us insight into some offshore drilling issues should Gustav cause damage in the Gulf of Mexico. The findings of Dr. Satish Nagarajaiah, Rice University professor, studied the damage to offshore drilling platforms following the 2005 hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As the offshore drilling debate persists and Gustav travels through the Gulf of Mexico this weekend Dr. Nagarajaiah’s findings provide important information to consider as we watch the prices at the pump in the aftermath of Gustav.

Both Katrina and Rita were category 5 hurricanes and each one caused damage to an estimated 3,000 oil platforms and 22,000 miles of pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. The following damage is recorded:

  • 52 platforms with major damage
  • 19 of the floating drill units exposed to hurricane force winds went adrift or were damaged
  • 115 platforms destroyed
  • Eight rigs destroyed
  • 535 pipeline segments damaged

Dr. Nagarajaiah explains that the rigs and platforms may have ongoing damage due to past storms, making them more susceptible to current and future storm surge and wind damage. If and when damage occurs to these platforms, equipment and pipelines the potential for more increases at the pump becomes greater and greater. This Science Daily article states:

When Katrina and Rita struck, gas prices soared as a result of damage to oil facilities. With oil prices at all-time highs this year, U.S. oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has a direct impact on gasoline prices.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/08/30/gas-prices-gustav-and-the-future-of-offshore-drilling/feed/ Expand Offshore Drilling? Three Words for You: Katrina, Rita, Gustav http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/08/29/expand-offshore-drilling-three-words-for-you-katrina-rita-gustav/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/08/29/expand-offshore-drilling-three-words-for-you-katrina-rita-gustav/#comments Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:57:22 +0000 Shirley Siluk Gregory http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/08/29/expand-offshore-drilling-three-words-for-you-katrina-rita-gustav/ Friede & Goldman LTD at Wikimedia Commons under a GNU Free Documentation license.)Why is expanded offshore drilling not the lasting solution to the U.S.’s energy problems? Besides many of the other valid reasons (decades to get to market, potential environmental devastation, oil as a global commodity), Satish Nagarajaiah offers another one:

Billions and billions of dollars in potential storm-related losses.

A civil and mechanical engineering professor at Rice University, Nagarajaiah recently analyzed the impacts on offshore drilling of the powerful 2005 hurricanes, Katrina (which made landfall three years ago today) and Rita. The storms, both of which reached maximum Category 5 strength (winds of up to 175 mph) though weakened before landfall, made their presence felt to some 3,000 offshore platforms and 22,000 miles of pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico.

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